Miranda cleared her throat. "Right, now we start on the basics of Medicine. Medical Practitioners in the empire require special kits with which they use to heal people. During your course at this institute, everything will be provided for you to use and subsequently practice with. However, once you leave the university, you need to buy yourself a medical kit for your personal use. Needless to say, that which you borrow from this university will have to be returned.
Here, take this. This is a list of the necessary equipment, and also a simple list of the new vocabulary you have to become acquainted with for this course." Miranda handed over a parchment. Magus accepted it graciously, and eagerly pored through the lists.
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Basic gear:
Field pack
Medical Kit (pouch)
Prod
Blade
Sewing kit
Fabric
Pads (pack of 3)
Bandages (medium or large roll)
Pegs
Water bowl
Pouch
Pill
Stretcher (folding type)
Pick
Parchments (pack of 10)
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Closed fracture: crack in the bone that doesn’t cause splintering of the bone. May not be visible.
Compound fracture: break in the bone where the bone has splintered. May be accompanied by a wound where the bone has torn the flesh (Usually visible).
Pulse: the pulsating of veins as the heart pumps blood through them.
Pulse Points: inside of the wrist, either side of the neck, or over the heart itself. Even though there are 11 pulse points, these are the areas one can most easily check for a patients pulse (see pressure/grasp method).
Tourniquet: made of fabric strips varying in length but usually two feet long. Used to stop bleeding from a limb by wrapping a fabric around the limb above the wound then placing a peg into the wrapping. The peg is twisted until the blood flow stops but usually results in the loss of the applied limb if not removed promptly.
Stretcher: any canvass or clothing stretched out using poles on two sides to be used as a platform or transport for patients. The stretcher is carried from two ends by holding the poles. A folding type stretcher can be made or bought and is used as the frame of the field pack.
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Magus nodded. He would be able to get all those equipment with relative ease at the markets. As for the list of vocabulary, he had already memorised them. "I've already learned off the list, Mistress Miranda. What do I need to do now?"
Miranda reply shortly. "Just Miranda will do. So, you think you already know them off by heart? Well, I'll have to test you. Place your parchment face down, so you won't be able to cheat. Ok, now, what are the two type of fractures listed that you can have, and what are the main differences?"
Magus paused, rummaged through his memory banks, then grinned. "Well, the first fracture is called a closed fracture. I think it's the one that doesn't cause the bone to splinter, so in a way, the name makes sense. The next type of fracture is called the compound fracture, and that's when the bone has splintered, so the problem is compounded by the fact that you have fracture and splintered your bone."
Miranda smiled in satisfaction. "Very well, then. Tell me, what are stretchers and tourniquets used for?"
Magus instantly replied. "Well, stretchers are used for transporting the injured, so they can lie on them and not move around much. I suppose this is due to prevent any further injuries to them caused by too much movement. And the tourniquet is used to prevent bleeding, but because it stops blood from flowing, I guess that's a bad thing if other parts of your body need blood. So you have to take it off shortly after."